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Dover (elevator)
Dover Corp. is an American-based company. The company manufactured passenger and freight elevators from 1955 to 1999, and was the 3rd largest elevator company. They still manufactures automotive lifts under the "Rotary Lifts" name. History Dover Corporation was originally known as Rotary Lift, a manufacturer of automobile lifts that opened in 1925. In 1937, Rotary Lift invented the modern hydraulic passenger elevator known as Oildraulic, which has become popular since and rivals such as Otis, Montgomery, Haughton, Westinghouse, etc. began making hydraulic elevators. Rotary changed its name to Dover Corporation and split the company into two separate divisions: Rotary Lift, which manufactures automobile lifts, and Dover Elevator Division, which manufactured passenger and freight elevators. In 1958, Dover Corp. bought out Shepard-Warner Elevator. Since they made geared & gearless traction elevators, Dover Corp. started making geared & gearless traction elevators. In 1999, Dover Corp. sold it's elevator division to the German-based Thyssen Elevator, and changing the name into ThyssenDover Elevator. However, Dover elevators saw little change as a result of this buyout; the same fixtures and cab designs continued to be used, and ThyssenDover elevators were very rarely labeled as such in the cab or any readily visible areas (they are normally labeled as Dover). As a result of this, ThyssenDover elevators are usually only distinguishable by their date of manufacture. In 2001, Thyssen finished the merger with Krupp, forming ThyssenKrupp Elevator. This marked the end of the Dover name in the elevator industry. Post-Dover era ThyssenKrupp continued on making Dover's Oildraulic (their version of hydraulic) until October of 2012 when they discontinued the it. It was replaced with the new Endura system, that is supposed to use new eco-friendly hydraulic oil and is said to be the same basic design as Oildraulic. ThyssenKrupp continues to make traction elevators and has added machine room less elevators (notably the Synergy) and destination dispatch to their lineup. Distributors Dover was unique in that they had many independent, local distributors that bought Dover equipment and sold/installed it, usually bearing both their name and Dover's name. These reached their peak in popularity in the late 1960's, which is when Dover began to absorb these distributors and begin installing elevators on a much wider scale. Some companies, such as Burlington Elevator (New York/New Jersey), were dissolved in the mid 1970's. Others, such as Security (New Jersey), Eastern (New England), and Miami (Florida), lasted into the 1980's or 1990's. Some, such as Marshall Elevator lasted well into the ThyssenKrupp years. Others, such as O'Keefe elevator (Iowa/Nebraska), still exist today as ThyssenKrupp distributors. Worldwide distributors Dover Corp. had many distributors around the world. In the United Kingdom, Dover elevators were distributed by Hammond & Champness from the early 1970s until 1999. Their elevators were branded as Hammond & Champness Lifts (later H+C Lifts). In Asia, Dover had several distributors and third party installers located in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. In Singapore, Dover elevators were distributed by Duford East Elevator Pte. Ltd., while in Malaysia they were distributed by Dover Elevator Sdn. Bhd. Nowadays both companies continues to install or modernize elevators using generic parts. In South Korea, Dover elevators were distributed by Hyundai Elevator. Dover also exported their elevators to Australia, under their distributor Australian Elevators Corporation (AEC). Products Oildraulic : Further information: Oildraulic The Oildraulic was known to be the first modern hydraulic elevator, invented by Automobile Rotary Lifts in 1937. It was produced under the Dover name and then the ThyssenKrupp name until October 2012 when it was replaced with the Endura. Computamatic :Further information: Dover Computamatic Dover's Computamatic elevator system was similar to the Westinghouse Selectomatic and Otis Autotronic elevators. Traflomatic :Further information: Dover Traflomatic Dover's other automatic control system. Traflomatic I, II, and 500 were relay logic; but Traflomatic III & IV were microprocessor control systems. Fixtures :Main article: Dover Elevator Fixtures Guide. Before Dover started manufacturing their own fixtures in 1968, they used GAL fixtures and custom panels. Their standard-issue fixtures by the late 1960's were black buttons with a white halo that lit up and a distinctive indicator with square segments that lit up for each floor. The following listing is of Dover-manufactured fixtures. *'"1970's Black"' (1968 - 1970's) - These fixtures had no known official name. These buttons were black with a white halo that lit up, similar to the GAL fixtures that they used immediately prior to these. These, however, have a distinctly smaller halo than the GAL fixtures. The floor indicator was similar to the GAL indicator that they used immediately prior, but the segments for the floors were spaced farther apart. This is dubbed the "chiclet indicator". *'"1970's White"' (1968 - late 1970's) - These fixtures had no known official name. These buttons were similar to the 1970's black buttons, except that they were white with a black halo, and the actual button lit up. The indicator is the same "chiclet indicator" from above. *'Traditional' (mid 1970's - 1999, used by ThyssenDover and ThyssenKrupp through 2007) - These fixtures are similar in appearance to the 1970's white buttons (and the 1960's black buttons on special order), but the surface of the button is smoother and the button presses in less, giving somewhat of an illusion of a touch-sensitive fixture. Early on, the chiclet indicator was used, but Dover eventually moved to a digital/faux digital "alarm clock" indicator in the late 1970's, followed by a dot matrix/faux dot matrix indicator in the mid 1980s. 1990's Traditional put button labels on brailes off to the side of the button rather than printing the labels on the actual buttons. After 1999, the buttons were made by ThyssenDover, then by 2001, ThyssenKrupp. In 2007, ThyssenKrupp overhauled the traditional line into its current form. *'Impulse' (1983 - 1999, still offered by ThyssenKrupp for special orders) - This is Dover's most common and distinct fixture line, and their first to adopt a modular design. It was still being manufactured and installed on a normal basis by ThyssenKrupp through 2006. However, it is still available with custom installs as of current day. Notable installations United States *Albuquerque Plaza office tower in Albuquerque, New Mexico *Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, New Mexico *Administration Building at the University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas *Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dallas, Texas *Paramount Building in Dallas, Texas *Blackburn Science Building at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky *Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, TenesseeModernized by ThyssenKrupp in late-2000s. *Uptown Tower in Albuquerque, New Mexico *Palace Hotel Myrtle Beach, South Carolina *Country Club Hotel, Lake Ozark, Missouri * Walden Galleria Mall, Buffalo, New York Singapore *127 East Coast Road, Singapore *Trengganu Street, Chinatown, Singapore *People's Park Centre, Singapore (1993)Currently being modernized by Kone. Elevators serving the office section have been modernized by Duford East Elevator in 2009. *Queenstown Library, SingaporeInstalled by Dover, mantained by Duford East Elevator from 2000 to 2005 then mantained by 9G Elevator from 2005 onwards. Australia *Liverpool Private Hospital, Liverpool, Sydney (1999) *Liverpool Plaza, Sydney (maintained by Pioneer Elevator) *Toys'r'Us store in Westfield Liverpool, Sydney *Hurstville Station, SydneyModernized into Schindler holeless hydraulic elevator but still has the Dover floor passing "buzz". *Eagle Junction Station, Brisbane *Sydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga, Sydney *Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Sydney Other countries *Lorna Whiston School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *Kent Business School - University of Kent, Kent, United Kingdom (branded as H+C Dover) Trivia *In South Korea, Dover elevators were distributed by Hyundai Elevator Co. Ltd.. Gallery Logos Screen Shot 2012-11-17 at 11.26.28 PM.png|The original Dover logo (1955-1968) Screen Shot 2012-11-17 at 9.29.41 PM.png|Second generation logo (1969-1988) Dover Elevator Logo.png|Third generation logo (1988-2001) Dover logo.jpg|Another 3rd generation Dover logo. Thyssen Dover name.png|Thyssen Dover name. See also *Automobile Rotary Lift Co. *Dover Elevator Fixtures Guide *ThyssenKrupp *Marshall Elevator *Hammond & Champness References External links *Official website (Website for the elevators) *Hammond & Champness in Beno Lift Guide *Wikipedia article of Dover Corp. *Dover elevator information photos (provided by jimster586 on Flickr) Category:Elevator companies Category:Defunct elevator companies Category:Elevator companies that have been acquired Category:Elevator companies based in the United States